DIY Building a Cocktail Pool in South Africa

[@fezilepreciouskhoza3464]

I'm so glad I found this video. We busy with our pool and when I returned home yesterday I saw those bags of sand around the hole and I was so confused as to to whats happening 😂😂😂

[@vusapaulos3580]

Very good vide there Graham.

[@rastendaimacky208]

Nice one mate

[@rubenjansevanrensburg9929]

Great video to watch...and learn👏

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks man. It was a nice project. If you have the energy, you could save real cash...

[@JDAfrica]

Thanks for documenting the process - it seems this is actually a unique process, done throughout africa and seen in India, with an entirely manual installation (hand digging and removal of soil / hand mixing of concrete). I hadn’t seen any step by step process like this … often you see concrete block pools (in UK and Aus) and excavator and shotcrete with a pump truck in USA. We’re currently building with this same style of concrete pool - 6x3m

[@We-R-Racing]

Hey JD. Thanks. Yeah my big issue was that I don't have the ability to get heavy machinery to the back of the property. I never intended to have a pool. I had no other choice. Having said that, it was still a relatively painless and quick process. I have to tell you that is the perfect size. Easy to keep clean, light on chemicals and the water gets warm quickly. I would not do the black again. In hindsight I should have used blue or white

[@JDAfrica]

@@We-R-Racing we’re on day two of digging … should be done by 4pm, then mesh and concrete in the morning. I had a good think about the color of marbalite … and will go the most common sky blue … reason being, down the line if I need to patch - I can likely get ready mix kits and small batches for seamless repair.

[@wesleylesibana340]

Great video, what type sand are you putting in the sandbags?

[@We-R-Racing]

They are normal river sand bags

[@TheWildWondersSA]

Baie nice!

[@Bigmamatalk5675]

Lovely

[@ianmiles2505]

Lekker.

[@mecksonsithaba3241]

What kind of plastering cement was used at the end ,that black one ,also for the concrete were the cements just regular cements like PPC,lafarge or it's special cements for pools?

[@jacquesvanderwalt2830]

Great video can you perhaps share some of the details, ie hoo much concrete did you use, cement and marbilite?

[@badger79overlanding19]

Hi there, great video. Thanks for taking time to make it. What was actual all-in cost ? Regards Chris

[@We-R-Racing]

If I remember it was just about R90k with all the extra bits. It is worth saying that a much bigger pool would not have been much more, as the "extra work" breaks the bank here,

[@ianmiles2505]

Lekker

[@bernie7384]

Hi sir. Nice pool. Whats the dimensions of the lawn section and the pool size (sorry if I missed it)

[@We-R-Racing]

Hi Bernie. Thanks for your question. I did not specifically measure the lawn, but the pool is 2m wide by 3m across. It is fairly small, but that was the intention. The lawn is about 6m from the house to the wall and around 20m side to side.

[@bernie7384]

@@We-R-Racing thanks man. My yard is also small and I was also considering a pool. Thanks again

[@colleentewater2493]

Did your pool plans give details for what size mesh you needed. Also did your plans show the thickness and the strength of each layer of concrete, plaster and marbelite? Or did your engineer specify these details?

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks for the comment @colleen

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks for the comment Colleen. The engineer determined that, based on soil samples and geomaps. I can't recall if this was specified on the plans, but the inspector did ask for it on final inspection.

[@jaylombard8500]

Myne trek nou al naby aan 2 maande. Florida.

[@boniswamereko6811]

Wow quite glad I bump into this video, how much did you spend on materials and labour

[@We-R-Racing]

All in, including the extra pacing, which cost quite a bit extra, the bill came to just shy of R80k. Definitely worth the extra stress of managing the project myself, as the alternative was well over R120k

[@RicksPhatPharm-vw2lb]

I sell property and built 100s of pools over the years, there is no law that requires suburban homes to issue plans for a build. You are required to keep within municipal by laws though

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks for the question. Yes. We had to submit plans and there are specifications around build lines, debt, reinforcement and proximity to the house. I had an architect do the plans

[@diasporareturnee]

Wow amazing, I think I will do something similar. Did you install a pump and filter? Is it costly to run per month?

[@We-R-Racing]

Hi. Thanks for the comment. The pump does use a lot of electricity. It is a 1kw pump, so 2kwh if you run it 2 hours per day. That is about R5 per day times 31 days.... R150pm plus chemicals and water, as the water does evaporate. We run our pump off the solar system though, so that ads to the overall saving on the cost of the solar.

[@rogergovender9887]

I'm so glad I came across this video. I am currently thinking of adding a pool and would like to find out about the steel used for the construction. Did you use ref 193 mesh? I heard you say something about a plan so I'm presuming you had to have a engineer to give you steel work specs there are alot of different specifications so I'm a bit confused please help.

[@We-R-Racing]

Hello Roger. Thanks for the comment and question. Yes, in South Africa you need a plan approved by the municipality to build a pool. In my case I also required engineering drawings to compensate for the quality of soil. I cannot specifically recall the gauge or quality of steel used, but it was dictated by the soil assessment. Good luck!

[@rogergovender9887]

Thank you for the reply .

[@fincarosa6767]

How did thus hold up? Finishing after 10 days after concrete, I see most people have to wait 30 days for the concrete to cure. How well did it hold up, with not waiting? Curious

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks for the comment. Are you maybe referring to concrete for construction? All the quotes we received, suppliers were consistent about getting the water in really soon after the marbelite was applied. We weren't allowed to use the pool for the 1st week, and no chemicals for the 1st 2 weeks {I think - not 100% sure about the 2 week period, but it was definitely a thing). After that we stuck in a pool cleaner, stabilized the water and it's been fun since.

[@tt.k1794]

Looks Nice. So no floor drain for your backwash?

[@We-R-Racing]

Hey. Thanks for the comment. The drain for backwash and rinse runs past the back of the pump. We installed it so that it spills out into the garden as to not waste the water

[@southafricanfireplace1628]

No fiberglass?

[@craigcook7589]

where in south africa was this pool built and what did it cost

[@We-R-Racing]

Pretoria and the total bill was just shy of R80k including the plans and extra paving

[@tumelondlazi6738]

Why so much , is it because of man power used

[@We-R-Racing]

Thanks for the comment. We didn't have much of a choice, as the pool is in the back and there is no way to get heavy machinery there. Having said that, I don't think R80k is a lot, considering the amount of man hours and how quickly they finished the project. Hardly a year later, my garden is fully restored and actually looks significantly nicer. Worth every penny if you consider the value it adds to the property

[@mpumiontheweb514]

80k is not a lot at all!

[@duwaynejonker1762]

Sien ek 'n klein medisane plant daar?

[@We-R-Racing]

Hulle is nie Meer Klein nie, en hulle kry kleinkies Duwayne 🤣

[@SuperiorRecaps]

What are the dimensions of your pool in meters of course?

[@We-R-Racing]

It's really tiny. 4m wide by 2m across and 1,6m deep. It is just for us old people to sit and have drinks, hence the steps all round.

[@sinenhlanhlabhengu7942]

​​@@We-R-Racing I want something like that as well. How much was it?

[@opc-gospelstudio8321]

How much please

[@opc-gospelstudio8321]

How much was total cost

[@We-R-Racing]

All in, including the extra paving, pool cleaner and thermal blanket we ended up at about R70,000. There are many hidden costs. Dont be fooled. The pump, filter and electrical connection was also extra.

[@opc-gospelstudio8321]

Thanks so much. But what do you mean by 70.000. In euro dollars or Naira?

[@We-R-Racing]

My bad sorry. South African Rands, which is about US$4000

[@opc-gospelstudio8321]

Thank you so much

[@bfitz1307]

Apparently DIY in South Africa means hiring 11 Africans to do the work for you.

[@We-R-Racing]

Oh you thought it meant do it yourself? Noooooo! DIY means Don't Involve Yourself